Pitbull that mauled toddler’s face to be destroyed

OTTAWA — Police have ruled out criminal charges in the mauling of a 14-month-old girl by a pit bull in her home on Sunday.

Ottawa police have “not established that there is any criminal element in this matter and as such, no charge will be laid,” a statement said Monday.

The incident, however, will continue to be investigated by Ottawa’s bylaw services department, which on Monday arranged for the dog involved in the attack — a black pit bull terrier named Boss — to be destroyed.

Linda Anderson, chief of bylaw and regulatory services for the city, said the province gave municipalities “enforcement discretion” when the law came into effect in August 2005.

“The City of Ottawa has always taken the approach that we deal with problematic dogs regardless of their breed,” she said. “Any dog that isn’t well trained or well behaved is capable of biting.

It means that the city’s bylaw enforcement officers do not single out pit bulls for attention.

The city will respond to all complaints about aggressiveness, biting or a dog running wild, but in Ottawa, bylaw officials do not enforce rules that apply only to pit bulls.

Cali Leclair was in stable condition in hospital on Monday, where she was treated after the pit bull attacked her. The dog had to be pried from her face by her father, Tanner Longworth, who wedged the dog’s jaws open with his hands.

The girl’s mother, Christine Leclair, had been unable to free her daughter, who was attacked after moving to pet the dog.

The dog had just joined the family. Neighbour Vicky Gibson, 30, said the girl’s mother adopted Boss on Saturday, the day before the incident, in an attempt to rehabilitate the animal, which had previously bitten another child.

The dog, she said, was fine on the first day, but lashed out at Cali on Sunday at about 9 a.m.

“The baby went to pet the dog — the dog was laying down — and the dog snapped; it bit her right on the face,” said Gibson, a neighbour and close family friend.

Gibson, who rushed across the street when she heard the ambulance, saw that the dog had torn off much of the child’s nose. “The sight made me nauseous,” she said.

Leclair owns two other dogs, including a German shepherd, and is known as generous to a fault.

“Christine was so kind, she thought she’d take the pit bull for a week or so to help out the owner’s family,” said another neighbour, Beatrice Mushanga.

Boss had bitten its previous owner’s child in the mouth, she said. But that owner didn’t want to put the dog down so Leclair agreed to look after it for a week, despite its history.

“But the dog was still vicious,” Mushanga said. “I didn’t like it from the beginning … It’s so sad.”

According to reports from paramedics at the scene, the pit bull had torn the girl’s nose from her face and had inflicted deep puncture wounds, some of which had exposed the bone beneath. The Ottawa Paramedic Service described the wounds as “multiple, severe lacerations to the face.”

In Ontario, it has been illegal since August 2005 to own, import or breed an American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier or any similar breed.

The provincial government introduced the ban shortly after a two-year-old Ottawa boy was mauled by three pit bull-type dogs near his home.

Under the ban, people who already owned pit bulls were allowed to keep them, but had to ensure they were neutered or spayed. The dogs are supposed to be muzzled and leashed in public.

Some owners circumvent the law by registering their pit bulls as a different breed or by not registering them.